Anima Ignis

Like a Moth to a Flame

He woke on the forest floor naked. He had no recollection of who he was or where he was. His skin steamed and the forest burned around him. Did he do this? Did he cause all of this destruction? He questioned to himself. Suddenly a thought burst in his head. The Beast.

He scanned his surroundings running through the smoldering forest.
Who was he?
Who or what is The Beast?
All these questions bombarding his brain. He felt a familiar sense of fear wash over him, a kind of fear that made his skin burn. Stopping dead in his tracks he felt a cool breeze brush past him. "So here we are again." The voice spoke from inside of his head, and he couldn't find the source. "Where are you!" Quentin yelled into the darkness. A chuckle filled the silence. "I am everywhere, but nowhere all at once." Such fervor echoing in the voice.
What?
All these questions danced in his head, but one he was certain of was the voice he was speaking to was The Beast.

"Now, now child. No need to be hos-s-s-tile" The Beast slithered in the emptiness. The sound of a million wings flapping filled the silence and within seconds moths were surrounding him. Each with their own harrowing voice, beckoning him. Another voice, a warmer one split the chaos. "Quentin wake up! You need to wake up! The Beast will kill you!" It was a female's voice. He recognized it, but couldn't place it. "Don't listen to her Quentin, stay with me. I promise to keep you safe." He could sense the danger around him. Through the wave of moths he saw a girl with pale blonde hair and electric blue eyes staring back at him. He knew that was the voice. "QUENTIN WAKE UP!" her voice screeched through the void and the moths dispersed, and the forest seemed to glitch like a faulty computer game.
What was happening?
Who is she?

More questions, with fewer answers. He felt so utterly alone wondering the forest completely naked with no recollection of how he got there. As he ventured deeper into the brush he realized everything seemed to be repeating. The same clearing where he woke up laid before him, still barren and smoldering. He felt defeated, like he was going to die here. He could sense that the beast wanted to kill him, but why hadn't he yet?
The beast did not touch him, but there had to be an explanation as to why?
He sat on the ground and closed his eyes begging his brain to do anything, to give him any information. That's when he saw a flash of white light and could hear the words. "anima ignis"

Memories seemed to fly in from the depths of his subconciousness. Images of the girl, who he now remembered was Alice, and of Fillory. He glanced around realizing this was not fillory, this was something else entirely. Almost like a prison that had no walls, but there was no way out. An endless loop. If he had used the soul fire spell, that would explain why the beast hadn't touched him, but that also meant he didn't have long until it wore off. He searched around for clothes on the ground, knowing he would most likely not find any. Instead he fabricated a loin cloth with vine and brush.

Staring down at himself Quentin sighed. He felt so uncomfortable, but he knew he needed to find him. Searching the forest he found nothing. Then he remembered something The beast had said. "I am everywhere, but nowhere all at once," What? He continued pondering for a moment until he heard a fluttering of wings around him. It was just for a moment, but it was long enough for him to realize he was all around him because he was the flame.

Stopping dead in the middle of the trees Quentin searched the forest for any sign of movement. "HEY MARTIN!" he bellowed. He could feel his skin tingle with warmth and he knew it wasn't far. The closer he got the warmer his skin got. Quentin walked the forest looking for warm spots. He ventured to his East and found nothing, when he reached the clearing again he turned West. He continued to walk until he felt fire in his feet which raced up his entire body. Right before him stood a void of anything. He wasn't sure how to describe the emptiness that was before him. It was like an error to his eyes, they couldn't process the lack of light before him.

"Dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight" Martin joked. Quentin formulated a plan while he joked with the emptiness. "You wish you were as cool as satan." Taking a step closer he felt the fire burn brighter within him. The Beast shifted his position and he stood to the right of him. "I know what you are doing, I am not stupid. I know that the moment your soul gets close enough to mine I will cease to exist in this form." See Quentin wasn't even sure what would happen, but now he knew. "I just want to save Alice." He said solemnly. "She is gone, never coming back, Adios. There is no saving her." Martin tried getting into his head, but he knew otherwise. He saw Alice, she was alive and he was going to save her. He had to act fast. He could feel the fire dwindling. The Beast was fullerbustering and he was not about to let it continue.

With one swift motion Quentin jumped into the void. At first he felt nothing, then he felt everything. Like every molecule of his being was being burned alive, and no matter how hard he tried to mask the pain it continued to grow. Not one sound from The Beast, not one sound from him, nothing but excruciating pain. It felt like an eternity before he felt the pain start to subside. It was slow, but as it disappeared he felt whole again. He felt like he was falling through the void. Then reality came rushing back as he was staring at the Earth below him accelerating towards him. As he braced for impact nothing happened, instead the world flipped and he hit the ground with barely a scratch.
Where is The Beast?

Looking around he realized he was no longer in the smoldering forest, and he was fully clothed. He was in fillory and he saw Elliot staring at him with wide eyes. "Quentin?" Looking around he made eye contact with a young boy with dark hair and fearful eyes. "Hey, are you okay?" He rushed over while Elliot watched from the side still trying to gather himself. "Quentin, No!" He heard Margo yell from the distance. Looking up he made eye contact with her and Elliot. Then he realized who the boy was. Stepping back he looked at the ground around him. It was the same as the clearing, barren burnt Earth, but this time Moths were scattered across the patch of dirt. Millions dead, plastered on the ground. Looking at the little boy he stepped back. "Martin?" He questioned.